Victims of Our Grief and Denial
by Persarr
Summary: When three ferret siblings get captured by a lodge of beavers, their lives suddenly turn around. Will the ferrets choose the side of the goodbeasts or vermin? Or will one, if not all three siblings, betray everybeast who has come to their assistance?
1. Discoveries

**This is my first Redwall fanfiction, so please read and review; this was also a hard chapter to make, since it's the first. **

**Disclaimer: I own all the characters,(except Banjon and Brink; their from High Rhulain) but the song (the worm one) was written by Brian Jacques himself in one of his books, so don't give me credit for it. I just felt like adding it because I liked it :)**

** Review me with improvements/corrections, and also constructive criticism is appreciated! ^.^**

**Thankee gurtly, **

**~Persarr~**

* * *

On a cold, windy night, the beavers of the Sleektail colony huddled happily around a toasty campfire, warming their paws up gratefully. It was their annual winter feast, and they were singing a comical ditty that an otter Skipper Banjon, and Redwall Abbey's Cellarhog Brink, had taught their tribe long ago.

"O I knew a worm who turned to his tail,

An' this is wot he said,

I wish that you'd stop followin' me,

As though we both were wed.

Said the tail to the head stop pullin' me,

'cos I've no wish to go,

Besides, I think yore really a tail,

An' I'm the head y'know!

This caused the worm some great concern,

He said, I'm sure yore wrong,

An' they both began to bicker about,

To whom did the stomach belong?

Both tempers did boil, while disputin' a coil,

They fell into an awful fight,

They wriggled and squirmed an' waggled an' turned,

For worms ye know can't bite.

Then a big blackbird, who'd heard every word,

Came flutterin' out of a tree,

I'll oblige ye both, the blackbird quoth,

An' he ate them both for tea.

So that was that, he settled their spat,

an' I'll bid ye all good day,

For it's heads to tails when reasonin' fails,

A worm should crawl away!

Young ones who had never heard the song before howled with laughter, while older ones who had heard it quite a few times laughed just a bit more controllably. All in all, however, the beavers were having a good time.

"Pale cider, anyone?" offered the colony's leader, Rikard Sleektail.

Almost all paws shot up, except for the few sleepy beaverbabes who simply could not stay up this late.

Rikard chuckled inwardly at this, because the babes had insisted that they could stay up, and he retreated back into his large lodge of sticks and mud to fill up some glasses.

At the colony's camp, lodges like this were plentiful, with about twenty of them in the whole place. Each beaver or beaver family got one lodge to themselves. A stream also resided right next to the camp.

The beaver leader eventually emerged from his lodge with his wife, Sibyl, carrying five glasses of cider each. They hurriedly passed them out, then rushed back inside their home to get some more.

The demand for cider was such a popular choice among the beavers that Rikard and Sibyl had go back and fill up glasses several times before everyone was satisfied.

Once they finally were, husband and wife plopped down on a log, enjoying the night's peaceful celebration by sipping some of their cider. Some of the colony was still singing their favorite tunes loudly to each other. Others tried to drift off to sleep, once in a while complaining to the singing beavers about their loudness, though the singers didn't relent their songs for a while.

After that while, the celebration died down, and everybeast scooped up their sleeping children, (if they had any) and trudged groggily towards their lodges.

Sibyl and Rikard did the same, waking up their fifteen-season old son, Luig, who had been one of the cranky beavers that had complained to the singers before.

"Luig, the celebration's over." whispered the his father, gently shaking his son.

Luig grunted and reluctantly stood up. "You could've just left me out here to rest; it's much easier for _all_ of us you know."

"Luig!" exclaimed his mother, and then looked around warily before whispering, "Remember last week, that night when you saw the vermin..."

* * *

_The beaver colony halted their dinnertime chatter around their lodges at the sound of a faint rustling of leaves.. _

_Muttering broke out between the families until their leader Rikard announced silently, 'Everybody be quiet; Aaryno and Luig, follow me.' Rikard motioned to his best tracker and son._

_The three beavers exited into the forest, whispering barely audible comments._

'_What do you think it is, Rik?' murmured Aaryno_

'_I don't know, but I guess we'll just have to find out,' replied Rikard._

'_Dad, I'm scared,' Luig whimpered._

'_Don't worry, son, it'll be alright.'_

_The trio tip-toed into a clearing, then, hurriedly and silently they drew back into the safety among the trees, unnoticed._

_Three ferrets were across from each other by a campfire. Empty bottles of whiskey and one scimitar lay abandoned by their footpaws. Luckily, two of the vermin were sound asleep, and the other ferret was cursing to himself and rubbing his head, as he had rolled into a bush when he had been sleeping. He was also seemingly too busy with his swearing to notice the beavers. _

_Luig sighed in relief, and three pairs of quick, silent pawsteps retreated back to the lodges for a report._

* * *

Luig recalled this very well, and then his mother's hushed scolding brought him back to reality.

"…and they could have gathered _more _of the vermin and--Are you even _listening _to me??"

Luig's father patted his wife's back softly and mumbled, "Hun, don't be so dang hard on the boy, he's probably just staring into space or something."

"Am not!" quipped Luig, and he grumpily scurried off to his family's lodge for some much-needed sleep.

His parents sighed and slowly followed after him.

* * *

Hiding in the surrounding foliage, watching the sleepy beavers disappear into their lodges, were the same three ferrets from the week before. Unknowingly to Luig, the ferret who had woken up back in the clearing actually _had_ noticed them, he had just been careful enough not to show it.

That ferret, who happened to be the other two's leader, had then preceded to follow the beavers' tracks over the following few days.

His name was Kridje Swordbiter.

Kridje beckoned to the other two ferrets to follow him.

They sluggishly yet alertly walked towards the nearest beaver lodge. That lodge just happened to be Rikard, Sibyl, and Luig's.

One of the other two ferrets snickered in anticipation of raiding, but quieted down under the icy glare of his boss.

"Now," hissed Kridje when they reached their destination outside the lodge, "I want you two to grab anything you can find inside that heap of sticks. Kill if you have to, I don't care." The ferret leader handed his lackeys a sack to place stolen objects in. Both were used to Kridje giving them orders, and they knew not to question why he didn't help them with their missions.

"Uh, Kridje?" remarked one of the ferrets nervously, eyeing his leader's dangerous scimitar, "Shouldn't we be armed? We can't defend ourselves if we're not armed, y'know."

Kridje scowled fiercely at the ferret who had said that, whose name was Pilf, and then snapped, "I know; you may take my sword. If you come back without it, though, you will _both_ be deadbeasts. I don't even _care_ that we're all siblings!"

Eyes wide in fear, Pilf nodded. Pilf was always anxious, but the other ferret sibling just stood there emotionlessly.

The other sibling's name was Telkryn. Her unusual, sleek black fur made it oftentimes hard to see her at night.

Kridje glared at where he figured his dark-furred sister was warningly, and she looked up nonchalantly. "Whatever." Telkryn shrugged.

The ferret leader clenched his teeth annoyedly. Kridje loved striking fear in others, even if they were family, and although Pilf followed him enough without complaint, Telkryn was another matter. She would mostly just ignore or react without fear to his threats, no matter how harsh they were.

"Go now, and don't return without some of the beavers' belongings." growled Kridje. Pilf nodded fearfully at his older brother.

Telkryn walked silently over to the entrance of the lodge, Pilf following suit with his older brother's weapon grasped firmly in his sweaty paws.

The black-furred ferret glanced around her to make sure that Kridje was out of hearing range, then whispered in Pilf's ear, "Give me the scimitar, I know how to use swords better than our bastard of an older brother."

Pilf nodded, whispered, "I know," and handed his sister the sword. It _was_ true. He sighed.

She in return thrust the empty sack into his arms.

Telkryn pressed her ear up to the make-shift stick door, and smiled in satisfaction at the three different pitched snores coming from inside. She beckoned Pilf over as she gently pushed the door open.

They both crept inside as quietly as they could, and looked around at their surroundings. They gasped in amazement, but quickly cut themselves off. The three beavers were snoozing right in front of them; it was only a one-room lodge. They'd have to be very careful...

...But it looked so much bigger from the inside! And there was so much to steal! There was shiny jewelry and gourmet vittles on a table and so much more!

But what _really_ caught their attention, especially Telkryn's, was what was mounted on the fireplace's mantle. Warming flames crackled in the fireplace as they glowed orange on the object's silver blade.

It was a broadsword, just like what Telkryn had trained with when she was younger ferret. It's straight edge gleamed in the firelight, giving it a welcoming appearance, as if saying, "Come steal me!"

Telkryn mindlessly strode towards the weapon, one arm outstretched. She reached out to it, grasped its hilt, and lifted it off of its perch. It seemed to fit her paw perfectly.

She made an experimental swing, and the weapon cut a wooden spoon that was lying on the dining table right in half.

The younger ferret just watched his sister, impressed. She then noticed him, and hissed, "Don't tell Kridje, brother, this was meant to be mine!" She then sliced expertly through another wooden utensil to prove her point.

"Aye, sure," Pilf lied. He was more loyal to his older brother than his sister, because Kridje was a great leader. The youngest ferret admired his leadership.

Telkryn smiled at the thought of having her own weapon. And soon, there would be no more of Kridje to deal with once she slew him, though Pilf didn't really deserve it. She'd let him off easy.

Just then, Luig began to mumble in his sleep. Panicked, the ferrets grabbed all they could find, and stuffed it in the sack.

When Telkryn tried to grab a necklace made of shells that was hanging on a shelf, an unlit lamp that was set right next to it fell to the ground. It shattered with a deafening crash, waking the three beavers.

Pilf shot out of the lodge with the filled sack and Kridje's scimitar with no concern for his sister. Telkryn hesitated at a vital moment, and then thought fast and dove under the tablecloth that was draped over the dining table.

Rubbing their eyes, the beaver family sleepily sat up on their beds. But then, seeing the broken glass and missing items, they immediately jumped up.

"What's going on!?" exclaimed Rikard, "What's happening?"

Telkryn gulped and hugged her knees underneath the table. She had never feared anything like this when she'd been ordered to raid anywhere else. Maybe that's because she'd never been almost caught like this.

This newly roused fear irked Telkryn, because she had never been scared of anything before, especially not a couple of beavers, although it wasn't really them she was scared of.

It was death. She was afraid of death. If the beavers found her, they would tell their colony, who would undoubtedly murder her!

The ferret held her breath, hoping the three beavers wouldn't come looking for an intruder.

Sibyl sniffed disgustedly. "There's been vermin in here, I can smell them. We've been robbed! We must tell the whole colony!" She looked sadly at the empty place on the mantle. "They've stolen the broadsword, too!"

Telkryn's eyes widened. She shifted her position exasperatedly, and looked at the sword for a second. Was this really the right thing to do?

After a moment, the ferret composed herself again. _How could I think about what's wrong and right; I can do what I want!_

Telkryn confidently tried to stand up, forgot she was under the table and supposed to be quiet, and stupidly hit her head on the bottom of it.

_Oof!_

The beavers all glared at the table. Rikard grabbed the tablecloth and threw it off with one strong flick of his paw.

* * *

**Hope it was a good chapter, once again please review. By the way, the paragraph in italics is a flashback of Luig's in case you can't tell. Once again, please review with any comments or criticism!**

**By the way, here are some general ages: **

**Telkryn: 17-18; Luig: 15 (I mentioned it once); Sibyl: 35-42; Rikard: same as Sibyl; Pilf: 14-15; Kridje: 19-22; and Aaryno: whatever age you want him to be. **

**Also, I hope I made it clear (in the story) that Pilf is the youngest of the ferret siblings, Telkryn is in the middle, and Kridje is the oldest.**

**R&R,**

**~Persarr~**

**P.S. If you read, please review, I enjoy reviews much better than just the fact that people read my story/chapter thingy!!**


	2. Stolen Savior

**Yay! My second chapter! Sorry that it's so short compared to the first one, I guess this weekend I'm feeling lazy...**

**I'd like to thank Jade TeaLeaf for all of her tips, encouragement, and review! I appreciate it a lot!**

**I also appreciate almost any review except flames, just, if you read this, review it please!! I live off of reviews pretty much, and they help my story begin to develop.**

**Anyway, enough of my incessant ramblings, onto the story!**

* * *

The midnight moon shone its dim, white light in rays through the trees of Mossflower Woods. It created a hazy look to the silent forest, almost mysterious.

However, the mysterious silence was broken by the hurried panting of a ferret quickly emerging from a beaver's lodge.

Said ferret was Pilf. Beads of sweat fell down his face as he hastily went to report to Kridje about Telkryn's capture.

The ferret was close enough to the lodge to hear three beavers saying something, and felt sort of guilty for deserting his sister if they had discovered her. Who knows what they would do with her?

Distracting himself from the notion, Pilf thought about what his punishment might be. He sighed miserably at the thought, "What useless excuse will Kridje come up with _this_ time?" muttered the ferret to himself, "Will it be because we didn't steal enough? Or because I came back late? Or maybe because I left Telkryn behi--?"

Pilf felt a shadowy presence behind him and spun around in time to see his older brother aiming a knife at him, ready to throw. The younger ferret, realizing what was happening without hesitating, ducked to the ground.

_THUNK!_

The knife thudded into a tree trunk right behind Pilf, its blade stuck fast in the wood.

Kridje cursed to himself. How could he have missed?

Then Kridje thought, _Wait, if I'd have killed him, it wouldn't have helped anything..it-it would have made things worse..._

Pilf swiveled his head around and gawked at the small weapon. He'd acted just in time to save himself.

Then Pilf whirled around to his brother, anger plastered all over the young ferret's face. He flung the sack with the beaver family's stolen belongings at his older brother bitterly.

Kridje sidestepped, and the sack fell from its arc to the ground. He glared at his younger brother with the same anger, eyebrows furrowed.

With none of his usual fear, Pilf stood up and growled, "What in the hell was the knife throwing for? Why were you trying to _kill_ me?" His breathing was ragged and uneven in anger.

"I heard you muttering to yourself!" barked Kridje, "You _left_ _Telkryn_ _behind_? I mean, she gets on my nerves, and she never listens, but she's an overall better fighter than _you_! At least she's _useful_. And just for the record, I don't come up with 'useless excuses'!"

The older ferret regretted his first three statements immediately as Pilf ground his teeth, frustrated profusely. All of Pilf's admiration for his older brother went down the drain instantly.

Kridje forced himself to calm down a little and in a hushed tone hissed at his seething brother, "Now go get your sister back, _alive_."

Due to Pilf having no reaction to his brother's demand, Kridje assumed his younger brother would obediently do his bidding.

That, however, was not the case. Pilf silently wrenched Kridje's knife from the tree and stuffed it down his belt. He then gripped his older brother's wrist and stalked in the direction of the beavers' lodge. Kridje struggled a little bit, but since he wasn't as experienced at anything as his brother was (except bossing beasts around), he gave up after a few moments. 

_I bet the only reason they follow me is either because I'm older or that I have the best weapon and I can kill them at any moment,_ thought Kridje.

"I'm tired of you not helping, Kridje. See if you can rescue our sister _yourself_." interrupted Pilf through his gradually residing anger.

When the lodge door was in sight and close to the two ferrets, Pilf thrust his brother at it.

"Go." said the younger ferret, all of his nervousness when he was around Kridje disappearing. But all of a sudden he started trembling, but only for a slight moment.

At first Kridje hesitated, but at a poke of Pilf's new knife he reluctantly staggered to the entrance. Pilf smirked at his new powers over his elder brother, and followed Kridje in just in case he might need help.

* * *

Telkryn stared in horror at the trio of beavers she saw as they flicked off the white tablecloth. They stared back, but instead with malice, and no mercy.

The black ferret tried to shrink down unsuccessfully as the two adult beavers jerked her up from under the table. At the same time, a younger, smaller beaver ripped the broadsword from her trembling paws. He staggered under its weight but managed to heave it up to its place on the mantle.

"Why are you here?" demanded the older male beaver. Telkryn refused to answer.

He shook the ferret violently, grabbing the neck of her shirt, and snapped again, "_What do you want, vermin?_"

This time she muttered harshly, "What do _you_ think?"

The female beaver growled impatiently, "Murder, violence, robbery, anything some kind of vermin like you would do!"

The door to the lodge opened silently, and Telkryn glanced quickly at it in surprise, as she had felt a draft from it. She expected some other beavers or something, but instead Kridje was there, with a look of uncertainty on his face. She gaped at him, and then he motioned for her to ignore him in case the beavers noticed.

She snapped her attention away hastily, but not quickly enough. The three beavers turned their attention to the doorway where the black ferret had been previously been looking, and the young beaver gasped.

"So, you need reinforcements now?" shrieked the she-beaver, annoyed.

Pilf arrived alongside Kridje in time to hear this. He stepped back, startled by its loudness. Both other ferrets stared at Pilf for a moment.

That was all the big male beaver needed. He grabbed Telkryn by the neck, and slipped a dagger he'd saved for emergencies out of his belt. He held the weapon against the ferret.

"Make a move, and she dies." warned Rikard. His wife gasped and turned away.

Kridje shrugged nonchalantly and blurted, "Why should I care?"

The eldest ferret then mentally slapped himself upside the head at this remark, and Sibyl turned back around, looking at Kridje in disgust.

Rikard relaxed his grip for a moment, surprised at the Kridje's remark and Telkryn shouldered her way out of his grasp promptly.

Telkryn glowered at her older brother. He just shrugged again.

Everybeast was quiet for an awkward moment, then everything happened at once.

Kridje grabbed the knife he'd thrown at Pilf earlier out of his brother's belt, and tried to fling it at the beaverwife. Telkryn grabbed Kridje's wrist and wrested the knife from his paw. She stuck it down into a pouch she had slung across her back. Pilf just stared blankly down at the empty place where his weapon had been.

The youngest beaver gasped at the black-furred ferret's actions. If she was vermin, why save a goodbeast like Sibyl?

Telkryn seemed to answer his thoughts (unknowingly) with her own. _*Sigh* I can't believe I did that...but...I fear death _almost_ as much in other beasts as in myself._

Kridje scowled at his sister with a why-did-you-do-that? look.

She opened her mouth to answer her brother, but she didn't get a chance to.

In the spur of the moment, Rikard seized Kridje and Pilf by the scruff of their necks, rendering them motionless. Sibyl did the same with Telkryn, although she hesitated for a moment.

All three ferrets' eyes darted around the room, panicked. Sibyl and Rikard discussed between themselves what would be their fate. After a few moments, they dispersed.

"These vermin have caused enough chaos. They will be sentenced to execution in two days' time," explained Sibyl to her fretting son, "In the meantime, they'll be imprisoned."

The ferrets' eyes all widened. Telkryn was most devastated, because of preventing one beast's death, she had caused three others. _Including her own._

"But mother!" protested Luig, "The one with the black fur saved your life! And from her own kind, too! At least they all didn't gut us all while we were sleeping, too. They're just not as bad as other vermin, mother!"

"Son," responded Luig's father, spinning to face him, "They're vermin. Although your mother was spared, that won't change anything . I'm sorry, Luig, but there is no exception to our colony's laws. You know that. Now if you'll excuse me." Luig didn't answer.

Rikard stepped over to the ferrets and punched all three of them in the face one by one, knocking them all unconscious. Sibyl gratefully dropped Telkryn's heavy, unresponsive body on the floor, while Luig sobbed sadly.

He didn't care that the ferret who'd saved his mother was vermin. He didn't know his parents could be so…horrible. All because of some stupid code.

_Why are they doing this??_ thought Luig worriedly.

All the rest of the night long, Luig struggled to fall asleep. The trauma of what happened that night swam around his mind like an alarm, keeping him awake until the crack of dawn, when his body refused to stay conscious.

* * *

**Well, was it O.K.? Downright horrible? Anything, except flames I'll accept.**

**Hm, something is bothering me. Do Sibyl and Rikard seem too...hard on the three ferrets? Like, all mean and stuff? Please tell me, if so.**

**Thanks,**

**~Persarr~**


	3. Intriguing Curiosity

**Hi, sorry I took so long, I blame it all on writers block! Thanks to Jade TeaLeaf again for her reviews and comments, they helped me with this chapter a lot. **

**If you're reading this, and aren't Jade TeaLeaf, read her story called The Chains that Bind Us. It's really, really good, and...well, just read it! It's truly an amazing story, take my word for it. **

**By the way, you will be mentioned in my A/N if you review, so please, I want there to be more than just Jade reading and reviewing!**

**Happy Readin...**

**~Persarr~**

**

* * *

**

The rosy fingertips of dawn had had just crept past the span of the horizon when Telkryn came to.

The morning sun that shone through the trees gave a bright sheen to the black ferret's coat, making it seem a bit heavenly in appearance in a way.

With a groan, the ferret heaved herself into a sitting position. She looked around her, and saw and heard her two brothers snoring. Immediately, she tried to recall what had happened the night before.

She shut her eyes tightly, then opened them again. She blinked a couple of times before she could completely remember what had happened.

Telkryn heaved a sigh and thought, _How could me and my brothers get caught by _three_ beavers? I mean, there _were_ only three of us too, but we were armed more heavily. All they had was a broadsword, and they chose not to use it even. I guess goodbeasts are just…like that. Sometimes at least. And I will _never_ underestimate a goodbeast again_.

That thought ended because Telkryn couldn't think of anymore about it, and the ferret decided to set her mind on other things. Like where she was.

Telkryn began to scan her surroundings as carefully as she could. She and her brothers were surrounded by a wooden square on the ground, with some wooden bars jutting upward from it. A lock was hooked on one of them, and the black ferret assumed it was a door.

In other words, they were in a cage. The prison was in the middle of the beaver camp, with a few of their lodges close by.

Then, she realized that she had an audience.

A beaver just sat in front of the cage, as if Telkryn would provide some entertainment.

After a while of him patiently staring at her, she growled, "What?!? What do you _want_?"

The burly beaver in his mid-seasons remarked in a gruff voice, "You're my prisoner, I'm yer guard. Is that simple enough for a vermin to understand?"

"Just because I'm vermin, doesn't mean I'm stupid, slaptail," snapped Telkryn. "Besides, why do you need to guard me? It's not as if I could get out; I bet _you _couldn't even get in without the keys."

A couple of beavers shrugged agreeably, and the middle-aged one said, "Hmm, good point. Fine, I guess we'll leave. But we will be watching ye from afar, so don't think that just because we're out of sight, ye can try to escape! An' don't ye be yellin' or wakin' the whole camp up!"

Telkryn nodded and rolled her eyes. _I wouldn't be able to escape anyways..._

He and the rest of the beavers stood up and trudged back into the depths of the surrounding wood's trees, and Telkryn sighed in relief. It was better than them just sitting there, staring at her. She felt uncomfortable that way, and she would at least get enough privacy so that they wouldn't be able to hear her.

Deciding there was nothing else to do, the ferret plopped down on the ground and waited for her brothers to wake up. She twiddled her paws impatiently.

The first to awaken was Pilf, conveniently after about five minutes of Telkryn waiting. He rubbed his eyes and slowly sat up, then looked over at her.

"Where are we?" he asked groggily, already examining his surroundings. Telkryn didn't answer, so he repeated the question.

"We're in the--" Telkryn began grudgingly.

"--beaver camp, right, I forgot…" interrupted Pilf. He sighed. "Why did Kridje have to choose _this_ place of all places to raid?" he moaned in a whiney voice. He took advantage of the fact that Kridje was asleep to say this, because he didn't think he could handle any more of his brother's yelling and threats.

_Pilf still doesn't remember that he was angry with Kridje…_ thought Telkryn, _I'm not really surprised though. _

"It looked like it was filled with loot or something, I guess." replied the black ferret absently. She smiled inwardly as she thought,_ He's on a bit better terms with me than he was before. Maybe he didn't forget about Kridje, and is thinking of forming an alliance against him or something. _

_No, no_, another side of Telkryn's conscience contradicted,_ that's not like Pilf. He didn't even act like himself last night, either. _That thought roused a question in her mind.

"Pilf, you weren't acting like yourself last night, what happened?" she inquired of her brother.

He shook his head and replied, "I--I don't…know. I'm just guessing, but I think I got tired of him bossing me around. He's not even very strong or anything, I mean compared to you, a-and--" Pilf glanced anxiously around at Kridje, who had chosen that time to snore loudly and abruptly.

A few moments passed of Pilf warily eyeing his brother to make sure he was asleep before he continued, "--and, well, I was stupid to follow him around. He somehow convinced me when I was little that because he was older, he held the power to be in charge, and you just…well, why did _you_ follow him?"

Telkryn answered the question reluctantly, "I, uh, well, I just felt that he was……I guess, useful, in a way. He was _almost_ as strong as me, but if I deserted you two, he might follow me. You know how strong our cousins are; he was in contact with them all the time. You remember Akkroy, the tracker? He was closer than any of our other cousins to Kridje, and would do anything for him. I couldn't, well, I couldn't risk being caught, because he would have slain me, no doubt about it.

Pilf nodded knowingly. He bit his lip, and finally said, "Um, Telkryn? I hate to tell you this, b-but… since Kridje considered me his number one 'lackey', h-he confided in me once that he thought _you_ were useless. He said he didn't care if you died or not. Kridje wouldn't have actually said anything to his cousins, he would have just thought 'Good riddance,' and keep going on his way."

A growl ripped from Telkryn's throat so fiercely and suddenly that she scared Pilf into the corner of the cage. He carefully crawled back as she ranted in a hissing whisper, "WHAT!? I could have _run away_ from you two anytime, and that bastard Kridje wouldn't have even cared whether I'd left or not?"

The other ferret gulped and nodded slowly, mumbling, "P-pretty m-much…"

Telkryn took a deep breath to calm herself, then remarked optimistically, "Well, at least you're starting to see some sense. Kridje isn't the one you should really listen to.

Pilf nodded again.

The black ferret was about to take in a breath and ask Pilf another question, when Kridje mumbled something and sat up abruptly.

"Wha--? Where are we?!" he snarled uproariously, having awakened from his state of unconsciousness.

"You should know, you were the one who caused us to be here, mangysnout." barked Telkryn.

"Me? ME?! You hesitated, giving da big slaptail the chance to nab us, and you say _I_ did it?" retorted her older brother readily.

Pilf just sat on the ground, trying to stay inconspicuous during the shouting match.

"Ugh," groaned Telkryn, "_You_ were the one who told us to try and steal from here in the first place! You blame _me_ for that?" Anger began to broil inside both ferrets.

"Hey!"

"--and you were the one who…"

"--I'm going to strangle you, I…"

"HEY!"

The two quarreling siblings spun around, only to see the middle-aged beaver that had been watching Telkryn before. Pilf stood up, relieved that the fight was finished for the moment.

"Who are you?" asked Kridje and Pilf simultaneously.

"I'm yer guard, that's what, you slobberfaced ferrets. Didn't I tell ya not to be shoutin' or anything o' the sorts?"

"What?" snorted Kridje, "No one said anythin' 'bout--"

"Yeah," interrupted his sister, giving Kridje a fierce glare, then saying with mock politeness and a hint of a swagger, "Sorry Mr. Beaver, sir, won't happen again." She flashed him a feigned, good-mannered smile.

"Aye, young she-ferret, I know fer a fact that yer not a very respectful beast, so stop yer playin' around with me and tryin' ta earn my trust. It ain't gonna work." said the burly beaver sternly, squinting his eyes.

"In that case, slaptail," growled Telkryn, "Why don't you go back to where you were, no more of us yellin'. I'll make sure of it." She shot her older brother a meaningful glance. Kridje just shrugged.

"Ah, whatever. Ah'll be talkin' to the colony's leader Rikard if I hear ye shoutin' and quarrelin' anymore, ye got that vermin?" warned the beaver.

There was no response from any of the three ferrets, so the beaver just went on his way, grumbling something about punishments and Rikard.

A long time of silence passed after he had left, until Pilf finally piped up curiously, "Um, Telkryn, well, uh, why did you save that girl beaver from Kridje, you know, back in the lodge last night? I mean, I'm glad she didn't die too, but I'm just wondering."

"She had it coming," Kridje added, "And you took the chance to silence her nagging snout for good away from me! She was annoying as hell!"

He spat indignantly on the ground. Some of the saliva splashed on Pilf, and the unlucky ferret disgustedly wiped it off.

Telkryn kept her mouth shut and didn't answer for a long time, and then eventually lied, "I don't know."

Kridje rolled his eyes. "You don't know? You have to have _some_ reason for saving her. Everythin' has a damn reason."

His sister shook her head emotionlessly. "It doesn't." she lied again simply.

Realizing he wasn't going to get any satisfying answers from Telkryn, Kridje went silent.

* * *

Hours passed by uneventfully, except for the odd comment from one or another of the ferrets, until the morning began blending into afternoon. Beavers started to emerge from their lodges for a meal, and then there was a different audience surrounding the cage, mostly consisting of beaver cubs and their parents.

The little beavers asked their elders questions like, "Who are dose cweachas in da cage, mommy? Dey not beavahs, aw dey? Look, one has bwack fur! Wahaaah, dat big guy dere went and gwowled at me! He not nice!"

Kridje was busy disgustingly turning his back on the beavers, occasionally snarling and baring his teeth at them. Telkryn ignored them completely, and Pilf just smiled nervously at the crowd of beaver mothers and fathers, even though he received scowls in return.

Suddenly, the crowd parted, leaving a path for somebeast to walk through. Through the path came Rikard, Sibyl, and Luig. The colony leader held a plate of food and a glasses of water in his paws.

Sibyl came forward to the cage and opened the lock using the keys she was holding. Rikard walked over warily, set the measly portions of food on the ground of the cage carefully, and quickly had Sibyl lock it again.

"You're lucky," explained Rikard to the ferrets, "that we're giving you this amount of food. If anybeast else were keeping you captive until execution, you'd get barely half of this. Be glad we've decided to be generous, vermin."

Kridje and Telkryn said nothing, but their younger brother mumbled, "Thanks."

Rikard and Sibyl pretended not to hear it, and stalked back to their lodge. The crowd did the same to their respective lodges.

The only one left was Luig. He just stood there silently, as if waiting for something.

"Hey slaptail," muttered Telkryn, "What are you still here for? I mean, what do you want?"

Luig sighed, thought for a moment, then all of a sudden burst out, "I can't believe my parents have to follow this stupid law! It's not fair! Just because you're vermin, doesn't mean you have no right to live! You have the same right to live as any other beast! You--" he pointed at Telkryn, "--you saved my mother from that other ferret--" he gestured at Kridje, "--for no apparent reason! Mom and Dad just don't care about whose lives are lost or not, just that the colony is safe...but one of its members is safe _because_ of you."

"I take it yer not talkin' to me, then, slaptail, are ya? Well, if it means anythin', I'm sorry." lied Kridje. However, the young beaver just ignored the ferret and continued.

"If there's anything I can do to repay you for saving my mother's life right now, just tell me, black-furred ferret. That one--" he motioned to Telkryn's younger sibling, "--he gets it too. Oh, and don't say escape, because that's not possible--yet. That old grump of a beaver, Orriveg, he's watching us at this very moment. He's guarding you, because he believes just as strongly in the our colony's codes and laws as my father. I'm sorry about that."

"Are you serious?" scoffed Telkryn, "Why would a beaver help _us_? We're vermin, not somebeast you'd want to get mixed with."

"Well, I said, my mother is safe because of _you_." replied Luig

There was silence, before Telkryn said, "Let Pilf and I talk about it first."

Luig nodded, and the two younger ferrets began whispering amongst themselves. Kridje stared jealously at them, because they would get a reward and not him. _Un__fair,_ he thought,_ the stupid goodbeast and his picky-choosy attitude._

After a few moments, Telkryn and Pilf had reached a verdict.

"We would like some bigger portions, erm, what's yer name?" Telkryn said, eyeing their meager rations.

"It's Luig," replied the beaver, "and sure, I'll bring the vittles to you tonight after everybody goes to sleep. Since you chose to get food, I guess I can't exclude the other ferret from getting it too." He eyed Kridje unhappily.

"Ah, anyway, I should go now, it looks like Orriveg is getting suspicious." And with that, the young beaver shot back in the direction of his home.

Right when Luig disappeared behind the door of his log dwelling, Orriveg appeared in front of the cage.

"I'm glad ye weren't yelling or somethin' o' the sort, but were ye tryin' ta convince a beaver to let ya go, eh?" asked Orriveg suspiciously, without giving the ferrets any chance to reply.

"Well, I don't trust ye one bit. I personally can't _wait_ for yer execution in two days. I wish they were doin' it today, so as ta get rid of ye, and to let me have me own time, instead o' guardin' ye all day. But I ain't so lucky. Can't wait for my sleep tonight too, 'cause I won't be seein' ye then either. Good riddance, ta all three of ye."

Orriveg stalked off back to his hiding place in the trees, and the three ferrets hungrily gobbled down their bread and water, anxiously awaiting that night, when they would get more, and better, rations.

* * *

**Huh? Was it OK? Just in case I didn't make it clear, Orriveg is the middle-aged beaver Telkryn had seen that morning watching her. Review if you read this at all, because I always appreciate a new reviewer!**

**I'd be grateful for criticisms and suggestions and comments! The button is right down there you know...**

**~Persarr~**


	4. And the Promises We Cast Away

**Hi again! I know, I'm not being very regular with my postings, and I'm sorry about that, sometimes I just can't write anymore after I type for awhile, and then I have to sleep on it.**

**Thank you Jade -- AGAIN -- for her reviews. Do any of you other readers (I know you're out there, Story Traffic says so) get the pattern? You'll be mentioned if you just REVIEW! I'd be REALLY happy if you'd just review, please please please please please!**

**By the way, the chapter name is a line from the song The Warrior Inside by Dragonforce; their songs' lyrics always have great potential for titles.**

**Anyway, now that that is out of the way, may I present to you, chapter 4: **

* * *

Night had crept up on everybeast in the beaver camp faster than they'd expected. The midsummer sun had just set itself below the horizon an hour before.

"Luig, I think it's time for you to be going to bed!" called Sibyl from her family's lodge. She was washing laundry in the spare room.

"Mom," whined Luig, entering the room, for he had just been in the hall, "Oh come on, I'm not a little pup anymore! Besides, the sun has _hardly_ gone down. Can I stay up a little longer?"

Rolling her eyes, the beaver's mother replied sternly, "Fine, but no longer than two more hours. Why do you want to stay up? Usually you're conked out by now."

"O-oh," Luig stuttered, "I j-j-just, no reason, I guess, just, uh, I'm not tired." The young beaver cursed himself silently for being so careless, hoping his mother wouldn't get suspicious and intrude on his plans for that night.

Unfortunately for Luig, he was wrong: His mother was suspicious alright.

"Hun," she said worriedly, "Why were you stuttering? Are you O.K? Are you sick? Or cold? Should I talk to the healer? Well, maybe not him, but he's the best choice for now and..." Questions like this came pouring out of the beaverwife's mouth, her motherly instincts taking over completely.

Luig totally ignored the questions, except for one. _The healer??_ thought Luig,_ Oh no, she can't _possibly_ be thinking about bringing me to one..._

* * *

**Flashback**

* * *

_"Luig, my little baby, it's time for the healer_ _to come and see you, it looks like you have a wittle cold!" cooed Sibyl to her season-old beaverpup._

_The baby Luig giggled, curious and excited to find out what this "_healer_" thing was._

_"Heawer?" questioned the little baby, letting the new word form is his mouth._

_His mother chuckled happily. _

_"Yes, Lulu, healer. Oh look now, here he comes!" She tickled his belly, pointing in the direction of a male beaver of about thirty seasons that was sauntering towards the pair. Sibyl hadn't seen him before, he must have been a recent addition to the colony._

_More baby laughs issued from Luig's small mouth, and they kept coming until the healer came close to the baby. The giggles stopped abruptly at the sight of the stranger._

_Luig had a good reason to be scared, though. The healer had a scar over one eye that wouldn't ever open again, and one of his paws was mangled up beyond recognition._

_A confused look was plastered all over the healer's face, and Sibyl laughed, "Don't worry, he, uh, just doesn't like strangers."_

_The beaverwife just smiled half-heartedly. He didn't seem like someone she could trust..._

_The healer just nodded and started smiling at Luig. He didn't smile back, just sat there, staring with his little baby eyes at the grotesque intruder to his home._

_"S-s-so," the doctor said jumpily, looking away submissively from those ever-watching eyes and into the face of Luig's mother, "All he has is a cold, yes, yes, right, yes?"_

_Sibyl nodded seriously, then said worriedly, getting more wary of the healer by the minute, "Will he be O.K.? This is his first cold, uh, you know."_

_As if to prove the point, the baby beaver sneezed softly._

_"O-of course," reassured the doctor in a hasty manner, "I can't s-say that I, uh, can cure the cold r-right aw-way, but I have some herbs for him to eat so the cold will at least be stifled for a while, yes, uh-huh. He'll be just fine," The doctor fished out some odd looking herbs that Sibyl had never seen before in the area. His paws were shaking._

_"Thank you, Mister......?" drifted Sibyl, taking the herbs from the doctor warily._

_"C-clay, if you please, marm, uh, yes," smiled the doctor, "N-now, I have to go n-now, I, erm, heh, I found some herbs in need of p-picking, yes yes." With that, he quickly took off._

_"What an odd fellow...he's kinda creepy" Sibyl murmured to herself as he left, "Ah, well, somebeasts can be like that I guess." She stuffed the herbs into a pocket of her apron dismissively and went into the kitchen to prepare them for Luig. The beaverpup toddled right behind her eagerly, then turned back to plop on a chair in a different room._

_Just then, there was a knock on the door of their lodge. _Who could that be?_ thought Sibyl. She set down the herbs on a cutting board and came to see who it was that was trying to gain access into her humble home._

_When she opened the door, the young beaver herbalist, Zora Riverfur, who was also their neighbor, was on the other side of it._

_"Hello, hello," she said hastily, "Did that weird Mister Clay give you herbs? I saw him leaving your lodge, and my son, too, needs some; the healer just left. Do you have enough to stall my son's cold, too?"_

_Always the beast to help others, Sibyl nodded and scurried off to the kitchen where she had just began to chop up the herbs. She gripped half of them in her paw and rushed back to the lodge door._

_Zora nodded quickly in thanks and rushed off to her son at home. _

_Whistling a tune that had just popped into her head, Sibyl trotted back into the kitchen to continue cutting the plants. After she finished, she plucked a pinch of the chopped herbs, grabbed a small bowl, put the herbs in it, and shuffled into the room where Luig was contentedly sitting on a chair._

_"You wanna get better, huh, Lulu? When your daddy gets home, you might be better already!" cooed the babe's mother. She set down the bowl on an end table to spend a little time with her baby before she gave him the medication._

_In response, Luig repeated, "Lulu betuh 'en dada 'ome?" _

_Sibyl smiled and laughed, "Yes, that's right. You're a smart little one, aren't you?"_

_The little beaver beamed proudly, because somehow he knew this was a compliment._

_Suddenly, a scream issued from next door. The Sibyl was about to hurry to her neighbor Zora's residence, but the young herbalist had already began banging on the door before Luig's mother had had a chance to stand up._

_Sobs of "My baby! My baby!" were being choked outside the door, and Luig's mother had a slight hunch about what her neighbor's shriek had been about._

_Sibyl slammed the wooden door open and exclaimed, "What's wrong with him. Your son, is he O.K?" _

_All Zora could do was shake her head, and after a while of standing outside and Sibyl comforting her, the young beaver was barely able to manage, "H-h-he's.....he is...m-my son is...D-DEAD!" After the horrific statement, snivels and howls were once more commencing from Zora. She collapsed to her knees, using all her energy for sobbing, and not any of it to support herself._

_After a long moment of devastating surprise, Sibyl began to say in between gasps of surprise, "Alright, Zora, uh, all you h-have t-to do is nod or sh-shake your head; I'm going to ask you some questions."_

_The herbalist nodded, and Sibyl continued, regaining her composure, "Was your son at all injured?" Zora shook her head. "Had you given him the medicine yet?" A nod. "I have an idea...b-bring me to him, when I was younger I'd done a little bit of healing work." said Sibyl, "If you can manage it," she added._

_Zora nodded, pushed herself up slowly, and trudged over to her lodge, with Sibyl following closely behind._

_Luig just sat slouched on his chair, anxiously awaiting his mother's return. By her tone of voice, the baby figured something was _not_ right. The scream that had happened earlier didn't do much good for his optimism either._

_A while passed, and Luig almost drifted off to sleep, when Sibyl came into the lodge._

_"Mama!" he said happily, and began toddling over to her._

_"Hi, oh, my little baby!" the beaverwife sighed in relief, hugging her son tightly, kneeling down onto the floor of the room her son had been waiting in._

_"Why di' yew go ovah to Zowa's? Is her son awright?" he asked innocently._

_Sibyl sniffed, and shook her head, trying to stop herself from sobbing, "No, I'm afraid not. He, um...he fell asleep, and, uh, he can't wake up." she tried to explain._

_Luig nodded knowingly, and then asked curiously, "Why?"_

_Sibyl uttered a strangled cry, and then replied, "It's th-these herbs," she picked up the bowl of crushed herbs, "that kill--I mean, made him go to sleep."_

_"Ohh..." _

_Then, Luig popped another question, this time a bit scaredly, "Will I nevah wake up if I goes ta sweep now, mommy?"_

_"No," she chuckled half-heartedly, "No, you'll wake up, don't worry. Zora's son fell into a different kind of sleep. Don't you worry. Now, son, I have some business to take care of with that doctor. He just came back from his herb-picking trip, and I need to...um, _talk_ with him."_

_She stalked angrily out the lodge, bowl of herbs in paw, and shouting could be heard from outside in the beaver camp, followed with the crash of a broken bowl._

* * *

**End Of Flashback**

* * *

Luig scowled at the thought of the "doctor". He'd found out later that Dr. Clay, although having medical experience, had turned insane, and had had a strange and malicious urge to kill, even if he was opposed to violence. He'd been banished from the camp forever.

_I can't believe,_ thought Luig,_ that he had tried to _poison_ me...I wouldn't call it bloodlust, but he was as cracked as a nut in a crow's beak, that's for sure. I am _never_ visiting a doctor willingly again..._

For the period of time that Luig had been remembering, his mother had just been nagging on and on about his personal health, and she didn't even notice him spacing out.

"...and I hope you don't have a fever, that would just be horrible and--"

"_Mom!_" he said, waving his paw in her face, "_I'm not sick._ I just accidentally stuttered, okay? _That's all._"

"Well I--" she tried.

"Mom," he interrupted, "I'm fine, don't bother arguing. I'm just not tired, case closed."

She sighed in defeat and muttered dejectedly, "Alright, well, sorry son."

"It's okay, it's okay," he reassured hastily, "Why don't you go help Zora with her sewing, she said that she needed it with her new blanket, remember?"

Sibyl's face immediately lit up at the prospect, "Good idea, Luig!"

Luig's mother then hurried off next door to be Zora's tailoring mentor for the night.

* * *

Outside in the beaver camp's wooden prison, the three ferrets sat hungrily, awaiting Luig's return with food.

"Oh my _god," _complained Kridje exasperatedly, "How long does that beaver have to take!? I mean, we deserve better than just crusts and bread, damnit, and the only thing in the way of us getting it is that beaver kid."

_How stupid can he be? _thought Telkryn, then said, while rolling her eyes, "The only thing in the _way?_ More like the only beast that's keeping us alive and well! He's doing favors for us, and anyway, you're not the one that deserves anything good. What you _do_ deserve is the execution that's been planned for us, because of you."

Her eldest brother scowled at her, then snarled, "Do I have to tell you all this again? I was just--"

"--looking for a good place to raid, blah blah blah..." Telkryn interrupted, "I've heard it all, doesn't mean I can't blame you." The she-ferret concluded her statement with a note of finality.

Kridje detected the note, and wisely decided to avoid farther arguement, because their guard Orriveg had chosen that moment to appear out of the night.

"Yar, yer all still arguin', are ye? Arr, somethin' ye'd expect outta vermin, 'specially yew three." the middle-aged beaver said, more to himself than the ferrets. He continued, "Anyway, I've come to tell ye that since obviously ye have no need o' any guardin', I'm goin' off ta my bed. I bid ye a good night, or more like good riddance!"

With that, Orriveg stalked off to one of the lodges and disappeared inside it.

"Thank God he's gone, that old beaver is givin' me an 'eadache, y'know? All goodbeasts tend t'git on my nerves like that," Kridge shuddered.

Pilf, who'd stayed quiet for most of the remainder of the day, asked innocently, "What's wrong with 'em, Kridge, they're better than any other vermin we've met before."

The eldest ferret slammed his fist down on the ground. "And that's what annoys me about them! Strutting all around with their goody-goody attitude, and doing things just to help others. It's disgusting!"

Inside, Kridje thought, _There are other reasons, but I can't tell either of them about it. Not yet... _

_"God help me",_ muttered Telkryn before responding, "Have you ever thought about what goodbeasts think of _us_? We're terrible in their eyes. That's why we're here, damnit Kridje!"

Clecnching his teeth and counting to ten silently, he turned to his sister and said with more calm in his voice, "We _are_ terrible, that's the nature of vermin. There is nothing we can do about it, and I particularly don't _care_. Besides, what's the point of being all 'good' when you can have more fun being evil?" The last sentence Kridje stated with a bit of malicious humor in his voice, a smirk plastered on his face also.

The conversation would have carried on for a longer time if Luig hadn't come stumbling out of his lodge, arms crammed with different kinds of gourmet vittles. He seemed to be hastily rushing outside, as if he was late for something.

When the young beaver approached the cage, he slid the food in through the bars of it. There were cordials, meadowcream cakes, and a large fish for them to share.

"I'm sorry, I can't do much more than this, my mom is getting pretty suspicious." hurried Luig, "I'll be helping you two," the beaver intentionally ignored Kridge, "some more tomorrow. I hope I can help you more than just this; it's just not enough."

Luig started to run off back to his dwelling, but Kridge halted him, "Wait!" he called, "You think this is enough? It's more than enough! I can't thank you any more than this, kind beaver."

The eldest ferret's tries at peppering Luig failed, seeing as the beaver just ignored him again and bolted into the lodge.

Scraps of a worried conversation could be heard within: "What were you doing?" "N-nothing..." "I have a feeling that..." "Mom, _it's nothing_, ok? Why don't you go help Zora..." "Fine...just...go to bed."

"That Luig kid is gettin' on my nerves," growled Kridje quietly, taking a sip of some cordial, "No, actually, this whole camp is annoyin' me! I wish we weren't here. And don't go and say 'It's your fault we're here in the first place!', you've made that damn point a million times! I made a mistake, okay?"

As always, Telkryn argued, "No, it's not okay, Kridje! You made a mistake that's going to cost us our lives; that doesn't make us any better off."

"Um," intervened the youngest ferret, "Well, uh, isn't Luig going to help us? We won't have a life sentence, if he manages to rescue us. So, well, it's better than it would've been if you hadn't saved the beaverwife from, ahem, our brother. Thanks Telkryn."

"Well, la-dee-da, Pilf," Kridje snapped sarcastically, "You two get to roam free, and I get the execution! That makes it best for _everyone_, doesn't it? Yay!"

"Well," Kridje snarled before his siblings could reply, "I can't help being vermin! I was going to kill the beaverwife because I have a bloodlust that you two wouldn't damn understand! And I actually _have_ a reason to get revenge against goodbeasts, which is better than you think!"

At his last sentence, the eldest ferret clapped a paw over his mouth immediately. He'd said something he knew he shouldn't have.

_Please don't ask what I think they're gonna ask! Please don't ask the question! I _promised_ not to mention it!_ pleaded Kridje silently.

Unfortunately for him, his sister wouldn't abide by his unspoken pleas.

"And what," questioned Telkryn, "Might that 'reason' be?"

"The reason? What reason? I don't _have_ a damn reason," choked Kridje nervously. A bead of sweat trickled down the ferret's forehead.

His sister rolled her eyes, and snapped "Come on, you just _said_ _so_! I know when you're hiding somethin'. Spit it out; Pilf and I want to know what's wrong!" Telkryn glanced back at her younger brother, and he shrugged indifferently.

Kridje shook his head violently. "I'm _not _gonna say anything."

All in a moment, Telkryn cracked. She screamed at her older brother, "_What in bloody hell is keepin' you from tellin' me about that damn 'reason'__!?_" With her eyebrows furrowed fiercely, she glared at her brother, and he turned to avoid her gaze. The black ferret's short, angry breaths were taken through clenched teeth, and she grumbled unintelligible curses to herself.

After a long, awkward moment, Kridje brought himself together, stood himself in front of his sister, and snarled, "It's not for you t'know! Just shut the hell up, and I'll tell you about it when I think yer ready!"

"When will I be ready, then, tell me?" his sister immediately asked him, standing up to his height.

"When I feel like you are." replied Kridje.

"_Ugh!_" yelled Telkryn, "I've had _enough_! You're the most _obnoxious, aggravating, hell_ of a brother!" She pushed him out of her way and stalked to the other end of the prison.

She gripped its wooden bars and tried to pull them apart as hard as she could.

Being bars that came from the nearby black locust trees, they were heavy and thick, proving impossible to budge. With a yowl, she suddenly withdrew her paws, as there were numerous splinters now embedded in them.

Indistinct words were heard streaming out of Telkryn's mouth, and Kridje raised his glanced at his younger brother. Pilf just shrugged and muttered quietly, "I've never seen her like this either. It's probably been welling up inside her the whole time we've been at this beaver camp."

With a sigh, Kridje sat down next to his brother. Pilf scooted away from him edgily, but his brother did nothing about it. Instead, he thought,_Why bother stopping Telkryn? I'm only gonna get screamed at _again._ I'll let her get her steam out and__ talk to her in the morning--well, on second thought, talking would only get her back to blaming me for all that's happened, and we'll be going in circles again._

With his train of thought trailing off into nowhere, Kridje suddenly realized something: _Tomorrow was going to be the last day before the trial._

It was a long time before Telkryn settled down enough to collapse on the ground in exhaustion, and even then, Kridje couldn't fall asleep with the thought of the next day. _I dunno if that damn beaver kid is really gonna help us escape. I swear, the only thing he's good for is feeding us well. Hmph._

The moon shone brilliantly against the darkened midnight sky, and, looking up at the infinite ebony, Kridje Swordbiter silently prayed for once that everything would turn out alright for him and his siblings..

* * *

**Well, hmm, before I get on with my pleas for reviews, I've got a couple questions (that you can answer IN A REVIEW)...**

**First of all, did you think that the flashback was too long? And what do you think about Luig's healer paranoia? Any suggestions about how I can add that in the story later? And what if the maniacal Clay shows up later too? Think about it...**

**Oh, and another thing: the end of the chapter may have been confusing to you, but I'll be sure to explain it, don't worry...**

**Anyways, I've got to thank Jade TeaLeaf again, because she gave me the idea for pretty much the second part of the chapter. ^_^**

**REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!!**

** ~Persarr~  
**


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